Play together, stay together
1 August Kayleigh Powell (Wales) leaves Bristol Bears for Quins
2 August Cieron Bell (Scotland and Edinburgh Rugby) signs for Loughborough Lightning
2 August PWR seeks a new Head of Marketing
2 August The IRFU is looking for a Women’s Rugby Strategy Implementation Lead
2 August USA Eagles announce 40-strong squad for two-match tour of Japan
2 August Ellie Green moves to Gloucester-Hartpury from Trailfinders
5 August Vicky Laflin (Trailfinders) and Pip Hendy (Gloucester-Hartpury) called into England’s training squad
5 August Twickenham Stadium to be renamed the Allianz Stadium
5 August Lisa Cockburn (Scotland and Leicester Tigers) signs for Gloucester-Hartpury
5-14 August 33 French players called up for initial training sessions at Marcoussis
7 August Black Ferns get down to training for trips to England and WXV1
8 August Match officials appointed for the first two rounds of WXV
9 August Start of Farah Palmer Cup 2024
9 August Julia Chapman appointed CE of Northampton Saints (home from home of Loughborough Lightning)
9 August Jo Yapp announces names of 37 players to join Wallaroos squad for European tour & WXV
10 August Vodafone Women’s Interpros, 1st round Munster 29 Ulster 22; Leinster 38 Connacht 19
10 August Bulls Daisies beat DHL Western Province 36-17 to win Women’s Premier League, Pretoria
11 August Japan 17 USA 17 (Mikuni World Stadium, Kitakyushu); only the Eagles’ second draw ever
11-17 August Rugby Canada organising two camps, East and West, for U18s
12 August Elinor Snowsill becomes an official member of the Gorsedd of the Bard
13 August Dustin Jinka replaces Tamara Taylor as head coach of Sweden
14 August Hugh McCaughey, CE of the IRFU, sees a rapid growth for Irish women’s rugby over the next five years; hopes for a fully contracted team in 2026-27
14 August The Wallaroos are in camp
15 August Leicester Tigers announce 9 new signings – at last!
15 August Séraphine Okemba, star of France 7s, releases her song album, ‘La Saison’ (The Season)
16 August NZR publish 30 names of Black Ferns to play England and join WXV1
16 August First five venues and dates announced for HSBC SVNS 2025
16 August Barbarians and South Africa to meet for the third time in Cape Town on 7 September; Coach: Linda Itunu, her assistant Patricia García; Baabaas’ names being assembled (Rocky Clark, Carla Hohepa…)
16 August WRU to hold an open trial on 8 September for all Welsh-qualified players wanting to play for Brython Thunder and Gwalia Lightning in the 2024/25 season
17 August Japan 8 USA 11 (ECOPA Stadium, Shizuoka); USA take series 1-0 after a draw (see 11th)
17 August Interpros, 2nd round: Ulster 25 Connacht 25; Munster 32 Leinster 21
17 August A decade since England last won a World Cup. A long time a-waiting
17 August Fijiana to play two pre-WXV tour matches: v Scotland (14 Sept, Hive); and v Netherlands (18 Sept, NRCA Stadium Amsterdam) – first ever match-ups
19 August England training squad No 4 announced, 40 strong
19 August Meg Jones (England and Leicester Tigers) misses WXV and September tests with an ankle injury
21 August Women’s Elite Rugby (USA) has added three new cities (here termed ‘markets’) to its portfolio: New York, the Twin Cities and the San Francisco Bay Area; they augment Boston, Chicago and Denver
21 August Swys de Bruin becomes the Boks’ performance coach
21 August Over 180 U18 players from across the country took part in Rugby Canada’s development camps (see 11th-17th above)
21 August Standing Together Tall, official history of Irish Rugby, now available on pre-order
22 August London’s City Hall lit up in Women’s RWC 2025 colours to celebrate 365 days till the opening game
22 August BBC Sport gains exclusive rights to broadcast every game of the 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup
22 August Scott Bemand confirms his Irish coaching team for WXV1: intern Maz O’Reilly, kicking coach Gareth Steenson, defence coach Hugh Hogan, forwards coach Alex Codling and scrum coach Denis Fogarty
22 August Beth Stafford joins Gloucester-Hartpury full-time via Sale Sharks and Bristol Bears
24 August Interpros, 3rd round: Munster 29 Connacht 24; Ulster 14 Leinster 39
24 August Kathryn Dane (Ulster and Ireland) playing again after suffering a brain haemorrhage in 2022
25 August Lauren Delany (Ireland and Sale Sharks) retires from the game
26 August Nadine Roos has rejoined the Boks 15s squad after two years in 7s
27 August Bryan Easson announces his choice of 30 Scotland players for WXV2
27 August 37 Irish players from 7s and 15s receive new contracts
27 August 34 French players invited to join training sessions at Cap Breton 27-31 August
28 August Saracens sign Fancy Bermudez (Canada)
28 August Gillian Boag (Canada) signs for Glos-Pury, essentially to replace injured Kelsey Jones
29 August Scott Bemand names 35-strong squad for Ireland’s test v Australia and WXV1
29 August Giselle Mather is no longer DoR of Trailfinders Women
29 August Fiona Stockley, who makes the Barbarians’ machine tick, gains England Rugby’s England Rose Award
29 August David Courteix retires after 14 years in charge of France 7s; he is replaced by Romain Huet
30 August Wales will play in all red (except for white socks)
30 August Both England games against France and NZ will be shown on BBC1
30 August Barney Maddison is appointed head Coach of Trailfinders Women
30 August To help spectators with colour sight deficiencies, restrictions on kit colours for national teams (eg red-green clash) will be introduced piecemeal from early next year
